Third Chances
by MegK1978
Summary: Re-edited and re-uploaded! "CoE" fix-it: On the morning of Day 5, a woman visits the makeshift morgue to see the body of her cousin, Ianto Jones. Just one problem: Ianto doesn't HAVE a cousin named "Rebecca Jones". Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

"Third Chances" by Meg K

Author's Notes: Spoilers ahoy! :) OK, when I heard that "Torchwood" was making its return, I had mixed feelings: happy that Jack Harkness would return to Earth, and sad because Ianto Jones wouldn't be there. Like many of you, I saw Day 4 of "Children of Earth" (or read spoilers thereof), and thought "no, this is too cruel, Ianto can't DIE!" And, also like many of you, I decided to write my own "fix-it" fic. I got much of my inspiration thanks to YouTube user girlwhowasntthere, who created the video "10 Ways Ianto Jones Came Back to Life", and I decided to give it my own little twist. Obviously, there are references here to not only "CoE", but also the Doctor Who ep "The Doctor Dances", the Torchwood radio plays (also found on YouTube; I recommend starting with "Lost Souls", the 1st of 4), and various references to Shakespeare and "Charmed"'s Book of Shadows. My apologies to the Haymarket Hotel for any details I may have gotten wrong; I'm a poor Yank, and have never been.

I've decided to tell this story in not only the context of "CoE", but also of Part 2 of "The End of Time". I wish I owned Torchwood; then Ianto wouldn't be gone and Jack would be happy.

-TW-

_Day 5 of the 456 Incident, 2009, 6 AM. London_

The pair were somewhat strange-looking for the middle of London, sharing the front of a hired car heading for the impromptu morgue. He still wore the elaborate red jacket over a gray T-shirt and his various weapons. She had spread her silver cloak over the back of her seat to keep it out of their way. Her corset was silver scroll work over black velveteen, a white peasant blouse protecting her skin from the stiff boning.

They finally arrived, the man pulling up to the curb and putting the car into park. He turned to the woman, rare concern in his blue eyes. "You're sure about this?"

She nodded, finally turning to meet his gaze, her eyes blazing silver-gray fire. "You didn't see him. I _never_ want to see that depth of despair in his eyes ever again." They both spoke with what sounded like American accents.

When she had first approached him to solicit his help, explaining her plan, he had expressed his doubts about interfering in the timelines. She had countered with the retort, "Since when have you ever cared about that? From the stories I've heard, you'd crack and splinter every timeline in existence to get your way."

He had flinched, remembering the times he'd caused trouble before exploring Earth in this century, and reluctantly agreed to help. He had simply been unable to come up with an argument. Now he asked, "What's the plan again?"

"Stay here, get any medical equipment ready, and also ready to get us back to the Haymarket Hotel. If this works, we won't know if there's any damage …"

He let out a sound of frustration. "I can't believe you've never done this before."

"I never had a reason to try before," she shot back. "Just be ready." She opened her door and stepped out, carefully arranging her silver ankle-length skirt that matched the cloak. "Wish me luck."

-TW-

She approached the first red-capped soldier she saw. "Excuse me, is this where they have the dead from Thames House?"

The young UNIT officer took in her outfit with amusement. "It is, but I doubt you'll get any spirits to talk to you."

Her eyes narrowed, frowning at him. "My cousin died there yesterday, sir," she bit out, cold enough to freeze even the 456. "His sister is in no condition to identify and claim his body. Furthermore, I came straight from a fantasy convention without bothering to stop and change. Now please tell me where I can find him." Intimidating this one human so low on the totem pole he was guarding a morgue was too easy.

The soldier cleared his throat, looking embarrassed now. He took up a clipboard near to hand. "Name of the deceased?"

She drew back her ire at him and calmly replied, "Jones, Ianto." She made sure that she spelled out the given name, then took out her borrowed psychic paper to ID herself as "Rebecca Jones".

"You should know, his coworker has already been here."

_Ah, that would be Gwen Cooper,_ she thought. "I'm not a coworker," she said, her voice dangerously frosty again. "I'm family."

He swallowed nervously and nodded, bidding the woman to follow him into the room.

What she saw broke her heart. She had heard the story, but seeing the reality strained her imagination. There was row upon row of bodies, all covered in red tarps, each with numbered placard at its feet. "He's number fourteen, Miss Jones. Shall I—?"

She nodded. This was her first ID of a dead body, and she wasn't sure how to react. She walked past the others until she came to #14, noting with an inward smile that the tarp for #13 was empty. She gracefully knelt and pulled back the tarp of #14. She hadn't known what to expect, but he looked very much like the one picture she'd seen of him. The only real difference was the inverted-Y mark on his cheek from the injury three days before. Even in death, his tie was perfectly knotted. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of this man, kept alive only by memory and stories, laying dead before her. She finally nodded. "That's him."

The soldier must have heard the tears in her voice, because he surprised her with his next words. "Would you care to be alone, miss?" At her nod, he added, "When you're ready, come find me. You'll need to know a few things."

She nodded again, waiting until she heard the soldier's footsteps fade. Glancing back to make sure she was truly alone, she allowed her tears to fall, remembering the words from her family story, and hoping they were still true. _"What's life? Life's easy, a quirk of matter, nature's way of keeping meat fresh; nothing to a nanogene." _She gathered the tears on her fingers, watching as they became dappled with golden sparks. She gently anointed Ianto's face with the sparkling tears, careful to also put them on his cut cheek. She began to to chant.

"_Hear these words, hear my cry, spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, cross now the Great Divide." _She repeated the rhyme, each repetition becoming more desperate, her tears coming faster, and she spread them liberally over his face. But after the third chant, she saw that the sparks had vanished.

"No, please wake up," she whispered hoarsely. "Please, he needs you."

But there was nothing. No sign of life.

She had failed.

"Oh I'm sorry. I tried. I'm so sorry." The woman who called herself Rebecca Jones laid her head on the waistcoat of Ianto Jones, and quietly wept.

She was so lost in her grief she didn't realize the body beneath her was starting to draw breath.

Instead, she drew herself up. "Goodbye," she whispered, saying it for herself and her friend. "I wish I'd known you." She gently laid her lips on his.

A quiet, healthy gasp stole air from her, causing a gasp of her own as she tore herself away. Her gaze met a pair of brilliant blue eyes blinking in confusion. "Holy crap, it worked!" She had to stifle her squeal of excitement to keep from drawing the attention of the guard.

Ianto struggled to sit up. "What happened?" he demanded, his Welsh accent thick with worry and bewilderment. "Where am I? Where's Jack?" He saw the bodies around him, noticing the same color tarp still covered his legs, and suddenly stilled. "Are all these from Thames House?" he whispered in horror. It seemed to hit him, ever so slightly, that he was formerly one of their number.

"Yes." She was now determined that her mission would not fail. "I know it's probably confusing right now, but we have to get you out of here. Can you walk?"

He carefully tested his legs, wincing slightly. "I think so, but I'll need some help."

"No problem." She inserted herself under his arm to help him to his feet.

They hadn't gone even a few steps when Ianto asked her to stop, looking at the two empty tarps side by side. "They know Jack doesn't stay dead, but I'm not able to come back. How—?"

She grinned mischievously. "I've got it covered." She held out her hand to Ianto's empty tarp. _"Create a bag of flesh and bones, Make all think it's Ianto Jones."_ With a concluding snap of her fingers, a solid form appeared looking remarkably like him, only dead. Another wave of her hand drew the tarp over the ersatz body.

Ianto gave her a look of amazement, but she could practically see the gears turning in his head. "What are you?" he asked.

"No time for those kind of questions. Make a mental list; once we're safe, I'll answer everything I can." She tapped the Bluetooth in her ear to contact her partner in his particular crime of body-snatching. "We're coming out," she told him as they moved to the nearest exit. At Ianto's quizzical look, she added, "I wasn't sure I could do this by myself, so I enlisted help."

"But Jack, and Gwen—"

"Have their own problems to deal with," she interrupted, "and don't need the distraction of you coming back from the dead." She glared at him to stem any further protests. "Don't make me use my magic on you, Ianto Jones."

He nodded, and they kept moving out of the building to the street. Now he understood the meaning of "half in jest, full in earnest," for that is how she had threatened him

She spoke into the Bluetooth again. "We're out. Start the engine and get ready to help us." She saw him blink the lights. "Okay, we're on the way."

She gently steered him to the idling car. Even as they moved, she could feel Ianto stiffen as her partner got out and opened the back door for them. "John bloody Hart?" he growled.

"Eye Candy!" Captain John Hart greeted gleefully. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

She aimed her silver glare on him. "John, _what_ have we discussed about teasing the recently resurrected?"

John opened his mouth to reply, but was silent in the sight of both their glares, at least looking chastened. She helped Ianto into the back, right behind the driver's seat, before going around to get in beside him. "Drive!" she ordered. "And don't do _anything_ to get us noticed or pulled over."

"Killjoy," he murmured under his breath, but obeyed.

-TW-

The Haymarket Hotel was small and exclusive at only fifty rooms and suites, but with all the amenities.

The desk clerk's eyes widened at the sight of John Hart supporting a limping man across the lobby's hardwood floor to the bank of lifts. "Is everything all right? Shall I call the house doctor?"

"That won't be necessary." He turned to see a young woman he recognized as a guest that had checked in recently, but she showed him her identity card, anyway. "I'm registered here, and my friend _is_ a doctor. My cousin just had a little too much to drink. His niece and nephew have been acting as strangely as the other children, and when he worries, he overdoes it." She ruefully shook her head. "We were at a costume—I'm sorry, _fancy dress_—party when he called me to get him. If we have him lie down, get some fluids in him, he'll be all right."

"Very well, Miss Jones," the clerk replied, "but please keep our doctor in mind, if you need him? In case it's more than simple worry and overindulgence?"

She gave him a sweet smile that dazzled him. "Of course, and thank you for your concern." She joined the two men just as a lift's doors opened.

-TW-

They got to her room without further incident. Hart slung Ianto to sit on one of the two double beds while the woman filled two glasses with water. "Before you ask anything, please drink." She pressed a glass into his hand, watching as he sipped carefully, then took longer swallows.

She caught Hart watching him, too, only less with concern and more with speculative lust. "John!" she snapped.

He blinked at her. "What?" he asked defensively. "No harm in looking!"

"He is off limits, and you know that, you dog!"

Ianto cleared his throat after drinking down half of the second glass. "Now may I ask questions, or shall I let you argue a bit more?"

"If we argue anymore, I'll do him permanent damage, and we still need him." She punctuated her statement with another pointed glare at the former Time Agent.

"Who are you?"

She finally turned her silver-gray eyes on him and smiled gently. "My name is Eledryth Carlyle; my friends call me Ellie. And I could not allow your death to stand." She held out her wrist to show him the leather strap and the 51st-century computer that rested there.

Ianto's blue eyes widened in recognition. "What—"

"You could never be just a blip in time, Ianto Jones," she told him, "especially not to Captain Jack Harkness."

Ianto swallowed again, this time at the tears that threatened at the words; the same words he had once said to his boss and lover when the latter was in an alien-virus-induced coma. "He told you that?" he asked his accent hoarse and thick. "You know him?"

"Yes, to both questions," she replied. "Although, he _was_ pretty drunk when he repeated the words. I'm surprised he was even willing to tell me the full story once he was sober."

"Jack drunk?" The Welshman shook his head in disbelief. "Somehow I can't quite see that."

"Believe it," Hart put in. "The man can put away hyper-vodka like nobody's business."

"John—" Ellie growled in warning.

He put up his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine, your story, I get it."

"So Jack sent you?" Ianto asked.

Her attention came back to him. "No. He doesn't even know I'm here." She nodded to the strap. "I stole this from him. Considering the state he was in, I don't think he'll miss it."


	2. Chapter 2

_September, 2011 (second anniversary of the 456 Incident), somewhere around Alpha Centauri_

Eledryth let herself into her friend's suite, taking off her silver cloak to hang up. "Jack?" she called. "It's Ellie. I wanted to say a proper goodbye." It was mere days before she had to return to Earth to start her new term at university. In the thirteen months that she had known Captain Jack Harkness, he had become a good friend to her, despite her grandmother's dislike of the man, for some reason the older woman didn't wish to elaborate on.

Ellie knew that Jack was older than he truly appeared, but didn't care. In spite of that fascinating scent he gave off that had nothing to do with cologne, she valued him too much to actually sleep with him. She'd always objected to the phrase "friends with benefits", when more often than not the "benefits" weren't.

She now saw that he had left several bottles of high- and low-quality alcohol scattered around the sitting room of the suite. She had a very bad feeling about this, and was half-afraid she would find him passed out, or worse, dead from alcohol poisoning. She knew he didn't stay dead long, had not actually seen one of his resurrections, but that didn't mean she didn't worry for his state of mind, never mind the state of his body.

Then she heard it: a recorded female voice looping to the beginning of her spiel, Welsh accent stained with tears and sadness. Ellie followed the sound to the bedroom, where she found Jack. He had collapsed on the bed fully-clothed; didn't even try to get his boots off. His hair was askew, dried tears tracking down both cheeks, and yet another bottle of booze on the floor, near to hand.

"_There's one thing I always meant to ask Jack, back in the old days."_ Ellie turned to the monitor where the recording was on automatic playback. All that was visible was a pair of clear green eyes beneath bangs of black hair. _"I wanted to know about that Doctor of his; the man who appears out of nowhere and saves the world. Except sometimes he doesn't. All those times in history when there was no sign of him, I wanted to know why not. But I don't need to ask anymore; I know the answer now. Sometimes the Doctor must look at this planet... and turn away in shame."_ Her voice broke, her eyes shining with unshed tears and sadness. _"I'm recording this in case anyone ever finds it, so you can see... You can see how the world ended."_ The screen faded to snow, then rewound to the beginning of the loop.

_Is that Gwen Cooper? _Elliethought. Jack spoke very little about the last time he was on Earth, but he'd had never-ending stories about his time with an organization called Torchwood, and the people who had worked there over the years. The ones that had stuck with Ellie most were of this woman and Ianto Jones, a most capable man while looking good in a suit.

After a bit of wrestling with his unresponsive form, she managed to get his boots and coat off.

"Never just a blip in time," he muttered brokenly. "Not to me."

And, as it had the year before, Ellie's heart broke for him. She knew Jack was talking to the memory-ghost of his dead love. She stifled a sob, knowing that her own tears wouldn't help. Then her eyes fell on his wrist strap, his Vortex Manipulator. She remembered how he had told her that, during his tenure with the Time Agency, he was given this piece of technology to police the timeline. Until that same Agency had erased two years' worth of memories from his mind. Until a time-traveling alien known as "the Doctor" had intentionally broken its ability to teleport anywhere and any-when.

Now a plan started to form in her mind. Even with her rudimentary grasp of temporal mechanics, she knew what she was contemplating was risky, even dangerous, perhaps fatal. But taking all of that into consideration, she wasn't sure how it compared to watching her friend do this to himself every year.

And this was only the second time she had seen it.

She could fix the Manipulator, no problem, not a complicated spell. But she also knew she had to find someone who knew Jack, who would be knowledgeable about timelines, and be willing to help her. Then she remembered another figure in Jack's stories: a fellow Time Agent–turned–con man who would take the name Captain John Hart.

_Day 5 of the 456 Incident, 2009, 8.30 AM. London_

"Two years, and he'll still blame himself?" Ianto asked incredulously. "I told him it wasn't his fault."

"Despite that, in my timeline, he only gets truly plastered like that two days in a row once a year." Ellie took a breath to steel herself for what came next. "Today, the events at Thames House will convince the government that they are right to turn 10% of the children over to the 456. They will send soldiers and people in lab coats to make the population believe that they have a vaccine against the aliens.

"Jack will let himself be put under arrest, with the condition that Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams return to Cardiff. He'll tell Gwen to go to your family, to protect your sister's children from what will come. Jack will discover why the 456 want the children, and how to stop them."

She could see Ianto wanted to interrupt, to ask questions, but she held up her hand, wordlessly asking him to let her finish. Her face darkened with anger. "There's a chemical naturally occurring in human children that acts as a narcotic for these … _creatures_." She snarled the word. "The chemical breaks down as the children reach puberty. And, like any addict, the 456 will do anything to get the next fix, including releasing the poison in Thames House.

"The same frequency the alien uses to communicate is also its weakness. Feedback on that frequency, at enough strength, will destroy the alien; but it will also destroy the mind of the child used to transmit that feedback. And today, the child in closest proximity to Jack …" Ellie had to stop a moment to keep sympathetic tears in check "... will be his grandson, Steven."

"No!" Ianto tried to get past Ellie, but he was still too weak, especially when Hart joined the fray, pushing the Welshman back to the bed. "You can't let him!" Ianto cried. "There has to be another way!"

"There mustn't _be_ any other way, Ianto," Hart told him quietly. "We're already risking Reapers just bringing you back."

"Please, just keep listening," Ellie added. "After today, Jack will spend the next six months wandering Earth. He will meet Gwen and Rhys on a hilltop, where she'll return this—" she indicated the Manipulator again "—complete with a new strap. He'll tell her it's not just yours and Steven's deaths he blames himself for, but everyone at Torchwood who'd worked for him, even Susie Costello. His grief became too large for Earth, so he needed to send a signal to a passing space freighter that agreed to take him on. Gwen will cry, saying that Jack will at least have her, that he cannot just run away. Jack, just as he is teleported away, will reply, 'Yes, I can, just watch me.'

"Over two months later, after a long hard labor, Gwen will give birth to a healthy baby boy."

Ellie smiled at the memory that came next. "And slightly over two months after _that_, eleven months from now, Jack will meet me."


	3. Chapter 3

_August, 2010, somewhere around Alpha Centauri_

Eledryth was having fun in this hole-in-the-wall alien pub, with a programmable karaoke machine. She'd always wanted to try out her variation of "Bad Angel", and she got her chance to actually do "sultry". She grinned at the applause. "Thank you, I promise I'll be back!" She stepped down from the little stage to the bar to get herself something to drink. She was so glad her grandmother took her here, so glad she _had_ such a grandmother.

"Buy a drink for that gorgeous voice?"

Eledryth turned to the owner of the voice, to see possibly the most handsome man in existence: blue eyes, dark-blond hair, strong jawline with a cleft chin, and wardrobe out of an old WWII film. She never thought she'd meet such a sinfully beautiful male this far from Earth. Unfortunately, she couldn't trust him, because she of all beings in this part of the galaxy knew how deceiving appearances could be.

"Sorry, I normally don't accept such offers from strangers," she replied. _Even if they are as cute as you,_ she thought, but added, "No matter how much they admire my … voice."

He grinned widely, showing his dimples. "Well, let me rectify that." He held out a hand. "Captain Jack Harkness."

Eledryth felt something in her memory spark, an old family story. "Harkness?"

He blinked at her tone of voice. "Have we met before? If so, please punish me for forgetting."

She had to laugh at the flirt she heard in that statement. "No, no, we've never met. Sorry, your name just … sounded familiar." She finally took his hand. "I'm Eledryth Carlyle. My friends call me Ellie."

Jack started at the accent with which she'd said her name. "That sounds like a Welsh name."

Ellie grinned. "Yeah, my mom has a great fondness for the Welsh. She spent some of her university days in Cardiff, loved the city, and the people. She says that Welsh is one of the only languages on Earth that sounds like spoken music." She noted that Jack's smile had faded, taken on a sadness.

"Yeah, I seem to recall."

Their conversation paused as the bartender came close. "I'll have a water, please," Ellie asked.

"And I'll have the same again," Jack added, holding up his almost-empty glass.

"I gotta say, Captain, I haven't heard your accent so far from home before."

"Where's home for you?"

"New York City, Earth. I'm studying music and literature right now."

"The way you were up there, I would've pegged you as a performer."

Ellie grinned. "Sort of. But if I want to be a songwriter, I need to know how some songs pan out in front of an audience. That particular song was just a new arrangement of an old tune I found." The bartender put down their drinks and she took a sip of hers. "How about you? How's an American-sounding human wind up out here?"

"Could ask you the same thing, Eledryth Carlyle," he countered.

She knew a dodge when she heard one, but let it go for the moment. "Well, let's just say … I have a well-traveled, indulgent grandmother."

Then she heard the MC call her name. "Whoops, that's me again! Stick around, I'd like to talk more." Bringing her water glass with her, she took a few more gulps before inputting the music and stepping up to the microphone. "This is one of my favorite songs, and I hope you enjoy." The saxophone started, and where before she had been sultry, for this she went for sweet: "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain.

She grinned as the sax slowly melted away and the applause started. "Thank you and good night!" she called, blowing a kiss. She was still high on the performance when she found Jack at the bar. "Hey, again." Her high faded when she saw the sadness on his face. She deliberately misinterpreted it, though, and asked, "What is it? I know my voice isn't the best in the galaxy, but I wasn't _that_ bad, was I?"

Jack managed to dredge up a little smile for her. "No, absolutely not."

"It was my choice of song, wasn't it." She smacked herself in the forehead. "I wanted to do something different, and I love that song—it was wrong for my voice, wasn't it."

He held up a hand to stop her. "Hey, listen, you were brilliant up there. It's just that song … it reminded me of someone. Especially that line about fighting your way back from the dead." His gaze suddenly went beyond her, as if remembering something else, somewhere else. _Someone_ else.

Ellie actually recognized the look on his face; it was grief that had never resolved itself, a wound in the soul that had never healed. _Damn, I gotta write that line down,_ she thought, but restrained herself for the moment to concentrate on him. "Is that why you're out here?" she asked softly. "To forget? Remember? Grieve?"

He shot her a sad half grin. "All of the above."

It would only be in the next few weeks that he would tell her why he was so far away from Earth. After drinking himself into oblivion for two days straight, he would tell her about what he called "the 456 Incident", and how he had lost the man he loved and one of the last members of his family.

_Day 5 of the 456 Incident, 2009, 9 AM. London_

"If we change anything about today," Ellie continued, "it will lead to a paradox, then the Reapers really _will_ fall on our heads."

Ianto nodded in sad understanding of the full ramifications. Jack's grief would send him out into space. He would befriend Ellie, who would be goaded to take on this risky plan to bring Ianto back. It killed him to admit it, even to himself, but he—_they_—had to let events play out. He swallowed back tears, not trusting himself to speak just yet.

He finally looked up at them. "Remember when you said to make a mental list? I'd like to ask those questions now. What are you, how did you meet Jack in an alien karaoke bar, and how did you bring me back?"

"The answer to the first two parts of your question is: my grandmother is a Carrionite. She's been taking me out to explore beyond Earth every summer since I turned eighteen. Unlike species that put their science in numbers and equations, Carrionites use 'words of power' to give the effect of magic. Most Carrionites will use the greatest wordsmiths, like Shakespeare and Marlowe. I, on the other hand, have been able to make do with 'spells' cribbed from TV shows, books, and my own creations." Ellie smiled ruefully. "Gran always thought I was wasting my talents, but if she ever found out what I've done, she'd turn green."

"Carrionites can bring back the dead?" Ianto asked.

She made a sound of ambiguity. "Well, my Carrionite heritage was only half the solution. My human heritage was the other half." She closed her eyes and mentally called to the colony, asking them to make an appearance. As requested, little sparks of light appeared around her spread fingers, dancing like fireflies before Ianto's wide eyes.

"They're called nanogenes," Hart explained. "Microscopic medical robots that can heal anything. It's very rare that an entire colony attaches itself to one family, but apparently Ellie's grandfather was something special."

"Grandpa was only four years old," Ellie went on as the lights retreated, "the first human these nanogenes had ever encountered. According to the story, they were originally part of an alien medical transport that had crashed during the Blitz. In every version of the story, two figures always stand out." She gave Ianto a significant look. "An American volunteer with the RAF named Captain Jack Harkness, and a man who was simply called 'the Doctor'."

Ianto smiled. Of course. Jack had said he was looking for the "right kind of Doctor"; but Ianto should have realized sooner it was _that_ Doctor, the one alien Torchwood was created to guard against. He closed his eyes a moment, took a breath, and looked at them with determination in his eyes. "So, we can't interfere with today or the next six months," he summarized. "Is there a plan at all?"

Ellie smiled. "Of a sort." She turned to the former Time Agent. "Captain, how would you like to be Gwen Cooper's hero?"

Hart narrowed his blue eyes suspiciously at her. "How?"

"You meet us on May 22, 2010," she replied, "at St. John's Hospital in Cardiff. "You'll present Gwen and Rhys with a gift to celebrate the birth of their son." She waved her hand in Ianto's direction, as if to say, 'ta-da!'

"So, let me see if I have this. You want me to let Gwen and Rhys think _I_ brought Ianto back from the dead?" At her nod, he threw back his head and laughed heartily. "I love it!"

"Well I don't!" Ianto protested, looking at her as if she'd gone mad. "Why can't _you_ present me as a gift?" He blinked, rethinking his words, then winced. "God, that makes me sound like an unwanted vase."

"Ianto, I can't get involved in events much more than I already have. I have to get back to my own place in the timeline, if only to return the wrist strap and meet Gran. If Gwen sees me, I don't think she's a good enough actress to pretend never to have met me before." Ellie turned to Hart. "May I assume you still have this frequency?" She held up the strap to emphasize.

Hart nodded. "Partner with someone long enough, you learn _everything_ about them, and then some."

Ianto's eyes narrowed, remembering similar words upon first meeting Hart. He caught Ianto's glare and gave him a cheeky wink.

Ellie snapped her fingers. "Hey! Mind on the plan!" she demanded.

-TW-

Everything laid out and set in ceramic, Ellie made sure Hart had his strap set with a reminder of where and when to meet them again.

"Thank you, John," Ellie said sincerely. "I'll see you again in a few minutes."

Hart laid a gentle peck on her cheek. "Safe journey, Eledryth Carlyle," he said, matching her sincerity. "See you in nine months." Then he was gone, back on his world tour of Earth.

Ellie used the hotel's in-room TV system to electronically check out, then had Ianto stand. "This will be your first journey this way, so it's gonna get rough," she warned him. "People are not meant to travel through time and space without a capsule."

"Just tell me what I have to do," he replied, blue eyes earnest.

With a little smile, she pressed her back against his front, drew his arms around her, and placed his hand on the strap. "Just hold tight." She already had the time-space coordinates programed in, so, sending up a prayer of hope and safety, she pressed the teleport button.


	4. Chapter 4

_May 2010, St. John's Hospital, Cardiff, Wales_

They landed in an alley near the main entrance of the hospital, whole-body aches distracting them as they collapsed against a wall to recover.

Gasping a whimper, Ellie found her voice first. "Ianto?"

"And I thought … Weevil hunting … with Jack … was a hard night," he panted, the last of the pain fading. He rolled his head, both of them wincing at the popping sounds from his neck.

They saw John Hart coming up a side street, looking a little older and worse for wear, and went into the lobby together. "Hi!" Ellie greeted the receptionist brightly. "Our friend just had her baby, where can we find her?"

The receptionist looked at the three of them: Ellie was still wearing her corset, skirt, and cloak; Hart his usual jacket; and Ianto looking as if he'd slept in his waistcoat and pants. "And you are?"

"Oh, right, sorry, I'm Ellie Jones, this is my friend John Hart, and my cousin Ianto Davies." She slipped out the wallet with the psychic paper again to "ID" herself. "Her husband called John and me at a fantasy convention, and Ianto at work. We just jumped the first train from London, didn't even think about changing."

The receptionist just smiled at Ellie's enthusiasm, and she knew her "ID" would check out. "All right," she said. "Maternity and nursery are on five. Please make sure not to tire _any_ of them?"

"We will, thank you," Ianto replied.

He sent Hart and Ellie to the lifts, meeting them a few moments later. Hart cocked an eyebrow at the blue-felt teddy Ianto had bought from the shop, but said nothing. They arrived on the fifth floor, heading straight for the bassinets behind glass. There were two bassinets with the surname of Williams, but one was empty and other contained a girl. They caught the attention of the postnatal nurse making her rounds, gesturing to the empty bassinet. She smiled at their eager faces and mouthed 513 at them. Mouthing back their thanks, they followed the signs toward the room in question.

Ellie stopped them before they could get within earshot. "We have to say our goodbyes here."

"Damn, and I wanted you to meet them," Hart mock-pouted, even knowing the paradox risks.

"I wish I could, too, but not yet," Ellie replied. "Remember the plan, and hopefully I'll see you both again. I'll do all I can to get him back here as soon as possible."

Hart nodded and hugged her, kissing her cheek. "Be safe."

"Stay out of trouble," she countered, her eyes twinkling.

He grinned. They both knew it would be impossible for him; he'd have too much fun. He headed to Gwen's room, leaving her and Ianto standing alone in the corridor.

The archivist looked at the girl … witch … alien … whatever … that had given him another chance at this life; a third chance, actually. "Saying 'thank you' doesn't seem enough for what you've done for me," he admitted.

"All I ask is when—not 'if'—Jack comes back, you make each other happy." Ellie drew him into a hug, his arms holding her strongly.

"I'll do my best, ma'am," he whispered, chuckling.

Ellie smiled, too; she remembered how often Jack had said Ianto's best was pretty fantastic.

"Hey!" they heard Hart call. "Eye Candy! Get in here!"

They released each other, Ellie giving him a gentle shove in that direction. Ianto looked back just long enough to see Eledryth Carlyle disappear in an aura of blue-white light.

_September, 2011 (second anniversary of the 456 Incident), somewhere around Alpha Centauri_

The man who had been gone by the name of Captain Jack Harkness for over 150 years moaned in pain. He vaguely remembered once again "celebrating" the deaths of his grandson and the man he loved with as much hyper-vodka as he could lay hands on, the video of his friend playing on a loop. He never regretted the drinking, but he _always_ regretted the hangover the next morning.

He now felt gentle fingers combing through his hair, the pad of a thumb softly stroking his throbbing temple, where the hangover demons always seemed to congregate with their sledgehammers. Very carefully, he cracked open his eyes, meeting a familiar silver-gray gaze in the muted light. "Ellie?" he croaked.

"Hi," she whispered in return, smiling slightly. She held up a large glass of water with a single, half-melted ice cube and a straw. "Drink."

Jack took the straw between his lips and slowly sipped. The cold water was almost perfect, even though it shocked his teeth; it numbed a bit of the pain.

Eledryth Carlyle sighed quietly. "I came here to say a proper goodbye, and what did I find? My immortal friend smelling as if he'd fallen into a distillery vat." After he had finished the glass, she held a second up for him. "This is only the second time I've seen you like this, Jack, and it's not getting any easier. I should have realized sooner what today was, so I could've been here for you."

He gently pushed away the glass to speak, his voice slightly less scratchy. "There's no way you could've stopped me."

"Who said anything about stopping you? Hell, I would've joined you. Just because it's hard watching your heart shatter for two days straight, doesn't mean I wouldn't be here." She combed his hair again. "It doesn't mean I wouldn't help you mourn."

Jack's eyes closed at her soothing fingers. It had felt like an eternity since he'd let anyone comfort him, and it felt good. Jack's relationship with Midshipman Alonzo Frame hadn't lasted, despite the introduction through the Doctor. And even though he loved Ellie, it was nothing more than friendship, and she wasn't who he cried for every year.

Then a sound pierced the silence, startling them both and sending a chill through Jack's blood.

"It beeped!" Ellie exclaimed, staring at his wrist strap accusingly. "I thought you said it doesn't do much anymore."

"It doesn't," he replied flatly. "The last time it beeped, two of my friends died." Slowly, warily, he pressed the button to receive the transmission.

A hologram of a familiar figure projected to stand before them, a smirk on his chiseled face. "Hello, Jack."

"John Hart," Jack growled.

"_That's_ Captain John Hart?" Ellie asked. "Damn, Jack, you didn't tell me he was cute!"

He shot her a glare that plainly said, "don't start." Tosh had once said the same thing, and _God_, it still hurt to think of her, too.

"If you're done growling at this image," the holo continued, "I'm calling hoping to get you back here, to Earth. And before you shut me down, I have extra incentive for you." He raised his own wrist strap, and Jack feared the worst. Who had Hart taken hostage?

A second holo appeared, this one also familiar, achingly so. Although the image was almost colorless, Jack could still tell he wore a red shirt with his suit, could see the blue of his eyes. He narrowed his eyes. "John, if I ever see you, it'll be to throttle you for this." Of all things his old partner had pulled, this had to be the cruelest.

"Hello, Jack," the second image greeted, and he let the familiar voice and accent wash over him, despite himself. "I realize you're afraid this is a trick. But I _am_ alive, sir. Gwen and Rhys have asked me to be godfather to their baby, and I'm going to do what I can to rebuild Torchwood. I hope this message finds you, and brings you back to me. You said not to, when I last said these words, but I still love you, cariad, and I'll wait for you." The image quirked a little smile. "I'll have a cup of your industrial-strength coffee waiting."

The second holo faded, leaving the image of Hart standing alone. "I'll transmit this everyday until you're back. In the meanwhile, they'll need someone with knowledge of aliens. If nothing else, come back to save _my_ cute ass when I annoy them too much." He smiled then, a sincere smile. "Travel safe, Jack. We'll see you." The holo disappeared. Silence dropped over the room again, of shock rather than grief.

He felt Ellie's hand close over his sleeve. "Jack, that second image—was that who I think it was?"

He slowly nodded, daring to believe. "There's no mistaking those beautiful Welsh vowels."

"Ianto Jones is … _alive_?" she breathed.

"Ianto's alive," Jack echoed, the reality of that statement truly sinking in.

They turned to look at each other, grinning maniacally. _"IANTO'S ALIVE!"_ they screamed exuberantly. Ellie leapt into Jack's arms, letting him hug her and whirl them around, both laughing and cheering with joy.

"Jack, this is amazing!" She drew back to look at him. "Put me down, put me down!" He complied. "I have to call Gran." At his look of doubt, she added, "We've gotta get you back to Cardiff, and she can get you there faster than any starship."

He nodded and she moved away for a bit of privacy. There was something about him that set off her grandmother most days, and he had no idea what. As a result, he rarely spoke to Willowblood, but he knew now he had to. In the meantime, something occurred to him and he checked the time-space coordinates of the transmission's origin. His jaw dropped at what he saw, making his knees give out.

He heard Ellie come back. "Okay, Gran's on her way— Jack? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Fifteen months," he replied dully. "The transmission is fifteen months old. Ianto's been alive for over a year. I've been away from him for over a year."

"Jack?" he barely heard her call his name. "Hey, Jack, c'mon, look at me." She put her hand under his chin, lifting his eyes to hers. "You can't blame yourself for this. He must know you thought he was dead for all this time. And you heard him: he still loves you. Now, if anyone can get you there, with no more lost time than necessary, it's Gran." She smirked. "And knowing you as I do, I'm certain you'll make up the lost time."

-TW-

It only took five minutes to explain to Willowblood, a full-blooded Carrionite, what had to be done and why. Between her granddaughter's desire to help her friend and Jack's heartfelt plea to return to the one he loved, she agreed.

Ellie drew the circle in the sparse living room, large enough for the three of them, while Jack made sure he left nothing of himself behind. Stepping into the circle, they watched as she waved the walking stick that was her focal point, murmuring something appropriately Shakespearean that Jack couldn't hear. She grabbed Ellie's hand, and Ellie instinctively grabbed Jack's. At the climax, her voice suddenly yelled the spatial coordinates for Cardiff and she slammed the end of the stick to the floor, imbuing the circle with power that came in a blinding flash.

-TW-

They took a moment to catch their breath before Jack realized they were in an alley not far from Roald Dahl Plass, in Cardiff. Jack looked up at something that held a special place in his heart like nowhere else could. "They rebuilt it," he breathed. "It's not exact, but they tried." And he adored it just as much because it wasn't a perfect replica.

He turned to the ladies with a big grin of anticipation, vaguely noting that Willowblood had changed her appearance to look human; her long chin had shortened to a more acceptable length, her long stringy hair had turned into a white coif, and her clothes were more typical of modern-day Cardiff than Elizabethan London. "C'mon," he said. "I can't wait to introduce you."

"You go on, captain. I'll wait here for Eledryth."

Ellie blinked. "Why, Gran? You're the reason we're here."

"But I don't think they've encountered many friendly aliens, my dear. And considering one of the last times Carrionites were on Earth, I prefer that you be their first contact with our kind."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked. "You'd be with me, and I'd keep you safe."

She smiled. "Quite sure. I'll wait."

He took her hand and gallantly kissed the back. "Madam Carrionite, you have my profound and eternal gratitude." His lips quirked up in one corner. "And considering how long I've lived already, that's saying something."

"You're very welcome, Captain Harkness." She patted his cheek before pulling herself free and shooed at him. "Now go get your man."

Jack offered his hand to his friend, his one constant for over a year. "Ellie?"

She grinned and grabbed hold. "Let's go!"

They raced across the Plass, past the reconstructed water fountain in the center, to where the tourist office once was. Jack noticed a significant change: the sign over the door read "Harwood Haulage".

"No way," he whispered, wondering if a certain burly Welshman was in charge here.

Their first sight of the interior looked like any normal office: desk and shelves messy with paperwork, a dry-erase map of Cardiff on one wall. One thing that didn't quite belong was the travel crib set up in one corner.

Jack saw Ellie grin as she approached the crib, crouching slightly to greet its occupant. "Hi there! Oh you are so cute. Jack, this little guy has the biggest green eyes I've ever seen!"

He stepped closer, noting the child was looking up at him with curious eyes; eyes that could see into someone's heart and soul, if given the chance. "I know those eyes," he murmured.

"Sorry about that," a new voice, a familiar voice, said from behind them. "Welcome to Harwood …"

Jack turned to the owner of that voice, the father of the child, the husband of one of his dearest friends. He offered a tentative smile at the shocked face. "Hello, Rhys."

Rhys Williams was a little older, a little leaner, but still looked like he could lay someone out on the ground if he had to. Now he stared at Jack as if he were one of the more exotic aliens that had visited the Rift. As he came closer, Jack wondered for a moment if he was going to get laid out. Instead, he was wrapped in arms that were much stronger than they looked, squeezing the air from his lungs. "Took you long enough to get here, you git!"

Jack chuckled soundlessly and returned the hug. "Good to see you, too, Rhys, but I can't breathe."

Rhys released him and stepped back, smiling. "Sorry. Welcome back. You _are_ back, right?"

"I can smack some sense into him for you if he even thinks of wandering away," Ellie volunteered.

"I'd like to see you try," Jack countered, and introduced them both.

Ellie turned back to gaze at the boy. "Is he yours?"

Rhys grinned with a father's pride, lifting the boy up. "He is. Jack, I'd like you to meet my son, Owain Ianto Williams."

Jack's eyes stung with tears at the names given to this new generation. Owen Harper would have chafed at the thought of Gwen naming her son after him, he was sure. Ianto, on the other hand, must be proud.

"Owain," Rhys continued, "this is Uncle Jack."

"Ja!" little Owain said, trying out the new word. Considering who his parents were, once he learned enough words, no one would get him to shut up.

Jack smiled gently at him, taking the small hand into his larger one. "Pleasure to meet you, Owain."

Ellie took her turn greeting the boy, stepping aside to see Rhys take out what looked like a clicker for a car, aiming it behind them. They turned to see a large wall panel slide open. "Go on, don't keep 'em waiting."

"Thanks, Rhys." Ellie following close, Jack entered the lift, feeling it descend, and so many emotions flooded him, good, bad and bittersweet. He breathed deeply, trying to keep them all in check. To his surprise, Ellie slipped her hand in his, squeezing gently, reminding him he wasn't alone. He looked into her silver-gray eyes with a grateful smile.

The lift finally stopped, its doors opening. Instead of the original cog door, they stepped up to a vault door, slightly ajar, pushing straight onto the main floor of the Hub itself; no alarms, no warning lights, no fanfare.

Jack could see they had tried to recreate the Hub as closely as possible: the conference room was on a floor above them; the beginnings of a new alien greenhouse next door; Jack's office across the way from the entrance, with computer workstations dotting the space in between. Instead of Torchwood spelled out in tile, in the fashion of a Tube station, the honeycombed T logo had been painted with great care on one wall.

Ellie strode out before him, turning in a circle to take in the space of it. She grinned, her eyes alight with wonder. "Jack, it's amazing! Almost as I imagined."

But then Jack heard a terrifying sound: guns cocking, readying to fire. And judging by the look on her upturned face, Ellie was further into the kill zone.

She raised her hands in surrender. "Uh, I come in peace?" she offered nervously.

**Cliffhanger! Yes, I know, I'm evil. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

_May 2010, St. John's Hospital, Cardiff, Wales_

An exhausted Gwen Cooper-Williams held her newborn son in her arms, gazing down at that perfect little face, her husband hovering nearby to take him if she got too tired. But she didn't think she'd ever get tired of holding him. Of holding Owain Ianto Williams.

"Well, finally got around to playing 'Happy Families'?"

Gwen had prayed she would never hear that voice again, but she had been determined that her child not go unprotected. "Rhys, gun!" she snapped, gathering little Owain closer to her.

Quickly, without argument, Rhys Williams yanked out his wife's pistol and drew down on the intruder.

"What … the bloody hell … are you doing here, John Hart?" she demanded.

Captain John Hart held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, easy, now, Mama Bear!" He grinned. "Just wanted to see what kind of cub you'd spawn with him."

"Oi, you, watch it!" Rhys looked as if he was ready to shoot the man on principle alone, never mind that he was partly responsible for the bombings that had rocked Cardiff, for the deaths of two of his wife's co-workers.

_Now_ Hart looked nervous; Gwen he knew wouldn't shoot unless he became an outright threat, but he wasn't so sure about Rhys. "Hey, c'mon!" he protested. "You really want to shoot someone who just wants to give you a gift?"

"All of your 'gifts' to date have involved explosives," Gwen retorted.

Hart had the grace to wince at the jab. "Okay, granted, but this time, the only explosions will be coming from you." He backed away just far enough to call out the door. "Hey! Eye Candy! Get in here!"

Gwen gasped at the familiar nickname. _No,_ she thought. _It can't be …_

Another figure came into the doorframe of her hospital room. It stepped over the threshold into the sunlight coming through the window, revealing that achingly familiar face and those blue eyes, incongruously holding a blue felt teddy. He was largely unchanged from the last time she had seen him, aside from the faint white scar on his cheek and he wasn't dead.

He looked at them with such hope, and their child with such longing, it was almost painful.

Rhys was the first to break the silence. "Ianto?" he asked tentatively. "That you?"

He quirked a wry little smile. "Yeah, Rhys, it's me."

"Ianto?" Gwen's voice broke as she said his name. She didn't want to believe it. _The dead just don't come back!_ Hell, hadn't the alien in Switzerland proven that?

Ianto Jones, newly resurrected, slowly approached her bedside and reached out to brush an errant strand of hair from her face. "First time I saw you," he started, "you had two pizzas from Jubilee, saying they were for Jack. I opened the door to the Hub's lift and told you, 'Don't keep him waiting.'"

"Oh, sweetheart, you're here!" Gwen withdrew one arm to wrap around his shoulders, yanking him down into a hug, crying into his neck. Ianto was careful not to trap the newest addition to the family between them in the sudden crush. "How?" Gwen finally had the breath to ask.

Ianto nodded back at Hart. "Believe it or not, he had some things called 'nanogenes'." He briefly outlined what they were and how they had brought him back the morning after the 456 had killed him.

"Wasn't sure how his 'resurrection' would affect the timelines," Hart put in, "so I estimated when your baby'd be born and teleported him here."

"Hm, I think we'll have to rethink our name choice, Gwen," Rhys suddenly said.

Everyone blinked at the non sequitur. "What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

He grinned. "Well, can we really call our son 'Owain Ianto Williams' if Ianto's still alive?"

"If I weren't still holding Owain, I'd smack you for that," Gwen replied, her smile taking the sting out of the words.

"May I?" Ianto held out his hands.

Gwen smiled and carefully handed her son to his godfather—as soon as she asked him to be.

Ianto looked down at the baby, who chose that moment to look at him with his mother's big green eyes. He grinned. "Hello," he murmured, then switched to Welsh, _"Welcome to the world, Owain Ianto."_

Even John Hart, cynic that he was, didn't want to spoil this.

Rhys piped up once again after a moment. "You know what this means, don't you?" Everyone looked at him blankly. "Anyone know how to contact Jack?"

Now it was Hart's turn to grin. "As a matter of fact … "

_September, 2011 (second anniversary of the 456 Incident), the new HQ of Torchwood Cardiff_

Jack leapt between his friend and the gunslingers overhead. "Stand down!" he roared. "She's with me!"

"Jack, no!" Ellie protested.

He searched the catwalk for a familiar face, and found it as another American accent gave the order. "But the weapon away, honey."

"You sure, Captain?" a Cockney accent as thick as London fog queried.

"Very sure. You could say he's a fixture here." The owner of the commanding voice made his way down to them as he spoke, his smirk firmly in place on his lips. "About time you got here, lover."

Jack narrowed his eyes at John Hart. "You haven't had the right to call me that for a _very_ long time."

"And yet you're not stopping me."

"Jack," Ellie interrupted, stepping out from behind his shielding body, "I think I've found the perfect guinea pig for an untested spell." Her eyes glinted with a combination of wickedness and well-intentioned malice, her hand coming up to aim.

Jack grabbed her wrist and redirected her hand away from Hart. "Ellie, no magic."

"But he's purposely being obnoxious, and I'd like to see how he'd deal with being magically castrated."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see Hart go pale and protect his crotch with one hand. It was satisfying, but rules had to be laid down when it came to Torchwood members. "Eledryth Carlyle," he scolded, gripping her wrist a little tighter, "no."

Her eyes flashed with silver-gray fire; he could tell she didn't like Hart's attitude and was eager to do something nasty to him in retaliation for all the hurt he'd caused. But she finally blinked and relented with a sigh and a nod. "All right. You're safe, " she said to Hart, "for now."

"Jack?"

He turned in the direction of the stairs leading down from the next level. He grinned, reminded again where little Owain Ianto had gotten his big green eyes. "Gwen Cooper, are you a welcome sight."

She slowly came forward, and smacked him the in the chest, surprising him, before hugging him. As he returned the embrace, he felt ears soak through his shirt. She leaned back to look at him and grinned. "Welcome home, Jack. Took you long enough."

"I know, I've already been read the riot act by your husband and ribbed by the man whore," Jack replied.

"Hey!" Hart protested.

"Oh, muzzle it, you horn dog," Ellie snapped at him, "or I'll offer Ms. Cooper use of that castration spell."

"I actually _like_ his parts," said the Cockney accent from before. "Preferably in their current condition." The owner was a woman with milk-chocolate skin and shoulder-length dreadlocks that alternated between bleach-blonde and coal-black. She wound an arm around Hart's waist, and he returned the favor across her shoulders.

Jack's eyes widened at the easy way they had with each other. "Do my eyes deceive me, or are _you_ actually in a relationship?"

"Jack," Hart replied, "meet Lois Habiba."

Jack blinked as Lois stepped forward to shake his hand. He shouldn't have been surprised; after all, Donna Noble, like Lois once, had been a temp, and she'd saved the world. "Welcome back, Captain."

"Thank you. I wondered what had happened to you."

"Let's just say, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Gwen."

Hart smiled in agreement.

Ellie cleared her throat pointedly. Jack took the cue and introduced her to the others before turning to Gwen. "Any other surprises in store for me?"

"Well, we hired a bloke called Mickey Smith as our new tech expert," she replied. "He came pretty highly recommended. He's out now checking out a hacker."

Jack chuckled. "Mickey Mouse in Torchwood; should've known."

Hart laughed at Jack's one-time nickname for the one-time London mechanic. "Gotta remember _that_ one!"

"John, you know how Mickey feels about your nicknames," Lois scolded.

"And Ianto?" Jack tried unsuccessfully to keep the longing out of his voice.

Gwen smiled in understanding. "He's in the Archives, like he is every day at this time. Most of it actually survived, and he's been sorting it since we started rebuilding." Squeezing him once more, she let go and waved him toward the Archive level.

He grinned and obeyed, disappearing down the stairs.

Ellie sighed with a grin. "Wish I could be a fly on the wall for that reunion."

Hart grinned. "Well, there is a way …"

-TW-

Jack found him, strangely or appropriately, moving from I to J in the Archives, clipboard in one hand and go-cup in the other. He wore a dark blue suit with pencil-thin stripes, a crimson-red shirt, and a variegated blue tie, hanging loosely, as if he had just pulled at the knot. He moved in his usual silent, efficient way, taking a sip from the cup as if to fortify himself for the work ahead.

He heard and saw Ianto sigh, then lift his head and took a deeper breath, as if scenting something in the air. Then his blue eyes saw Jack, meeting his gaze full on. Ianto was a little older, his hair a little longer, as if he'd missed a regular haircut, but just as handsome as Jack remembered.

"How long have you been standing there?" he finally asked in that beautifully accented voice.

"Too long," Jack admitted, "and not long enough." He could hear his own voice break, close to tears, literally _aching_ at the sight of him, alive again. He took a shaky step toward him, then another. Ianto mirrored him, closing the distance between them until they were in each other's arms, kissing with the desperation of long-separated lovers. It seemed an age before either noticed their kisses were flavored with tears.

Ianto cupped Jack's face, thumbs brushing the tears that had tracked down his cheeks. "I knew you'd come back to me."

"I'm so sorry," Jack blurted, trying to stifle his sobs, still so full of pain and guilt and grief. "I was such a coward. I love you. You—you were—" He could longer speak, his words dissolving into more tears. Ianto pulled him back into his embrace as Jack wept.

"You're home, Jack," Ianto murmured. "You're home."

-TW-

"_Snerf_," Hart pretended to sniffle at Jack and Ianto's reunion on the soundless CCTV feed.

Gwen shut off the feed as Lois smacked hm upside the head. "John, stop being an ass!"

Ellie simply glared and said one word: "Castration."

Gwen's computer blinked a warning just before the last two members of the new Torchwood Cardiff team arrived. Mickey Smith came storming in, his goatee'd face appropriately thunderous, followed by former government agent Emily Johnson.

"Mickey?" Gwen asked worriedly.

"That hacker was a bust," he growled in irritated Cockney. "Not even worth the Retcon."

"Should I be worried that he's _disappointed_ the hacker was just an overenthusiastic science-fiction geek?" Johnson asked, putting her weapons away.

"Maybe Mickey Mouse was hoping for a new recruit," Hart smirked.

Mickey froze at the nickname. "_What_ did you just call me?"

Gwen sighed; she'd hoped to prepare Mickey better than this. But the youngest member of the team got there first. "He's back, then?"

His answer chose that moment to emerge from the Archives hand-in-hand with Ianto. Mickey grinned. "Welcome home, Cap'n Cheesecake."

"How many times do I have to say it?" Jack asked. "It's 'Captain _Beefcake_' to you." He returned the grin and welcomed the hug Mickey offered. "I wondered if you were ever going to follow up on your threat to come work here."

"Well, when the boss-lady reached out to a certain former UNIT officer, you had to know she'd get in touch with me."

Jack chuckled in agreement. He should have known that all the 'Children of Time' would stay in touch, if only peripherally. His smile faded as Johnson approached. "What is _she_ doing here?" he demanded, his grip on Ianto tightening as if to drag him away for protection. His mind flashed back to images of the last Hub getting blown up by this woman with the black corkscrew curls and olive skin, under orders by the British government, not mention blowing _Jack_ up and encasing him in concrete.

"Easy, Jack," Hart cautioned. "She's with us; has been since we started to rebuild this place."

"She's been good for us, Jack," Gwen added, "a reminder of why we keep fighting."

"Cariad," Ianto said quietly, "she testified against all the government officials involved two years ago. She helped get our mandate re-approved with the Prime Minister and the Crown. We don't have to worry about interference ever again."

Johnson met Jack's glare, with more peace in her eyes than he could recall seeing. "You may never forgive me, Captain," she told him softly, "but know that I will defend every member of this team with my life."

"She was with me today, watching my back," Mickey added. "She's cool."

Jack closed his eyes, breathing deeply to calm himself. Having Ianto's hand in his, having him _back_, helped. "If they trust you, fine," he finally said. "But it will take me time to get used to the idea, to trust you as they do."

Johnson nodded. "Fair enough."

"Jack, who is she?" Ianto asked, and Jack saw he was looking at Ellie.

"The one person who was my constant the last two anniversaries." Jack beckoned her closer and introduced them. "For some reason, she took pity on me and stuck with me every year."

Ellie smiled. "You have no idea how good it feels for me to see Jack happy, Mr. Jones. I could only do so much."

"You kept him sane, and you brought him back." To Jack's surprise, his reserved lover pulled her into a hug, saying, "Thank you."

"My pleasure, and honor," Ellie replied. She released him and turned to Jack. "I should go. This has been, well, fantastic; but Gran's waiting for me, and I still have to get home."

Jack nodded in understanding. "I'll walk you out." He kissed Ianto's cheek as a promise to not be long.

-TW-

"Will I see you again?"

Ellie turned to him outside the Harwood Haulage office. For the first time since she'd met him, Jack now had some peace in his eyes. It gladdened and saddened her, because he wouldn't, _couldn't,_ know the lengths she had gone through for him and Ianto. "Well, you have one less reason to get drunk every year."

And _there_ was the pain again, and she knew he was thinking of Steven. "Yeah, but I don't want to lose you."

"Who said anything about losing me?" She playfully poked his belly. "Do you really think you'll get rid of me that easy? Uh-uh, Captain. Gwen made sure I have all of your phone numbers _and_ e-mail addresses. I'll be able to harass you when I like."

Jack grinned. "Maybe, but it's not the same thing. I was serious about you being my one constant. I don't want to lose that."

"And you won't." She took his hand and squeezed gently. "I _will_ be here for you. Just say the word. But don't forget you have people here who love you, including that blue-eyed Welshman. Let them be here for you, too." She pulled him into one last hug. "Stay safe, Captain Jack Harkness."

"Back at you, Eledryth Carlyle. And thank you."

She brushed a quick kiss to his cheek before they let go. As she left to find her grandmother, she began composing a new song in her head. An epic of three men; one damaged and broken, one reckless, and one reborn. And she knew exactly what to call it:

"Blue-Eyed Angels."

-TW-

Later, Ianto and Jack made it to Ianto's flat, where they talked, cried, and made love until they were too exhausted to do more than just breathe together. Jack laid his head on Ianto's chest, listening to his reassuring heartbeat.

Ianto ran his fingers through Jack's hair. "Jack?"

"Hmm?"

He could hear the teasing smile in the words: "About time you got back, sir. But you were worth waiting for."


End file.
